Bizygomatic distance and Bimastoid diameter as predictors for age and sex determination in an Egyptian sample: A cone-beam computed tomography study

Abstract

Background and objectives: Identification of decomposed or incomplete human remains is a challenging mission in forensic medicine. Denser bones, as the mastoid and zygomatic bones, are frequently retrieved intact. This study aimed to evaluate using bizygomatic distance and bimastoid diameter as predictors for age estimation and sex discrimination among a sample of the Egyptian population using Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT).Methods: One hundred and fifty CBCT images of Egyptians aged 18 to 67 years (75 males and 75 females) were included in this retrospective observational study. Bizygomatic distance and bimastoid diameter were measured, and data were subjected to statistical analysis. Results: Comparison of the mean values of bizygomatic distance and bimastoid diameter between males and females revealed significantly higher values in males than females (P-value ˂ 0.001). Comparison of both variables between different age groups did not show any statistically significant difference. The highest accuracy obtained from discriminant function analysis was for the univariate bimastoid distance model (89.3%, 82.7%, and 86.0% for females, males, and whole sample, respectively). Conclusion: Bizygomatic distance and bimastoid diameter measurements on CBCT images can be valuable tools for sex discrimination among Egyptians when other approaches are unsatisfying.